verb
erōtamō
Strong’sG2065
I ask, question, request
stem erōt-63 times in the New Testamentin 10 of 27 books21 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
ἐρωτάω means, first, to ask a question, to question, to interrogate 1234 — used both without an object (simply "to ask") and with a person or thing named as the object of the question, often introduced by "saying" or followed by an indirect question 13. This is the older, standard sense of the word 13.
In addition, the word came to mean to ask for something, to request, beg, entreat 1234 — a usage found in later Greek generally, not confined to biblical Greek 13, and functioning much like αἰτέω 13. In this sense it is used with a person asked, often followed by an imperative, by "that" clauses, or by an infinitive stating what is requested 1.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
ἐρωτάω, -ῶ
[in LXX chiefly for שָׁאַל;]
SYN.: v.s. αἰτέω
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2065 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saider-o-tah'-o
to interrogate; by implication, to request
Fromapparently from G2046 (compare G2045);
King Jamesask, beseech, desire, intreat, pray.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Epic dialect and Ionic dialect εἰρωτάω, contraction in Refs 8th c.BC+ and best codices of Refs 5th c.BC+: imperfect ἠρώτων Refs 8th c.BC+; Ionic dialect εἰρώτευν Refs 5th c.BC+participle -τεῦντας variant in Refs: future -ήσωRefs 5th c.BC+: aorist I ἠρώτησα Refs 5th c.BC+: perfect ἠρώτηκα Refs 5th c.BC+ —used in _Attic dialect_ to supply the defective tenses of ἔρομαι:—ask, τινά τι something of one, ἅ μ᾽ εἰρωτᾷς Refs 8th c.BC+:—passive, to be asked, τι Refs 5th c.BC+
2 ἐ. τι ask about a thing, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐ. ἐρώτημα to ask a question, Refs; τὰς πύστεις ἐρωτῶντες εἰ.. putting the question, whether.., Refs 5th c.BC+ —passive, τὸ ἐρωτηθέν, τὸ ἐρωτώμενον ἀποκρίνασθαι, to answer the question, Refs 5th c.BC+ —passive, also with person as subject, ἐρωτηθεὶς τὸ καλόν asked about beauty, Refs
3 followed by indirect question, εἰρώτα..τίς εἴη καὶ πόθεν ἔλθοι Refs 8th c.BC+; ἐ. εἰ.. or ἤν.. to ask whether.., Refs 5th c.BC+
II question a person, εἰρωτᾷς μ᾽ ἐλθόντα θεὰ θεόν Refs 8th c.BC+:— passive, to be questioned, ἐρωτᾶσθαι θέλω Refs
II.b of sentries, challenge, Refs 4th c.BC+; τὸ ἐρωτώμενον the password, Refs
II.2 in Dialectic, opposed to demonstration, question an opponent in order to refute him from his answers, Refs 4th c.BC+; τι Refs; hence later, submit, set forth, propound an argument, λόγον Refs 2nd c.AD+:—passive, ὁ λόγος..ἠρωτῆσθαι φαίνεται Refs 2nd c.AD+
III later, ={αἰτέω}, beg, entreat, ἐ. τινὰ τὰ εἰς εἰρήνην LXX; ἐρωτᾶτε τὰ εἰς εἰρήνην τὴν ἹερουσαλήμLXX+1st c.AD+ ωτάω, cognate with ἐρ (ϝ) έσθαι (see. ἔρομαι).)
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
1 rarer rendering are not shown; every occurrence below carries the English it was given there.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| erōtamōἐρωτῶ | happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular | ask | 9× |
| erōtasōἐρωτᾷς | happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular | ask | 2× |
| erōtatōἐρωτᾷ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | asks | 3× |
| erōtanōἘρωτῶμεν | happening now · wepresent active indicative 1st person plural | ask | 3× |
| erōtateἠρώτα | was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular | asked | 6× |
| erōtaleἠρώτων | was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural | asked | 8× |
| erōtamiἘρωτήσω | will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular | ask | 4× |
| erōtaviἐρωτήσετε | will happen · yefuture active indicative 2nd person plural | ask | 1× |
| erōtataἠρώτησεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | asked | 6× |
| erōtalaἠρώτησαν | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | asked | 8× |
| erōtateiōἐρωτᾷ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active subjunctive 3rd person singular | asks | 2× |
| erōtameiaἐρωτήσω | happened · Iaorist active subjunctive 1st person singular | ask | 1× |
| erōtateiaἐρωτήσῃ | happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular | pray | 1× |
| erōtaleiaἐρωτήσωσιν | happened · theyaorist active subjunctive 3rd person plural | ask | 1× |
| erōtasarἐρώτησον | happened · youaorist active imperative 2nd person singular | ask | 1× |
| erōtavarἐρωτήσατε | happened · yeaorist active imperative 2nd person plural | ask | 1× |
| erōtarōἐρωτᾶν | happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive | ask | 1× |
| erōtaraἐρωτῆσαι | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | ask | 2× |
| erōtarōntosἐρωτῶν | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | asking | 1× |
| erōtarōntoisἐρωτῶντες | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine | questioning | 1× |
| erōtarōntoiuἐρωτώντων | happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive plural masculine | asked | 1× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 86, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 50 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | erōtamō9×ἐρωτῶ | erōtame | erōtami4×Ἐρωτήσω | erōtama | erōtamē | erōtamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | erōtasō2×ἐρωτᾷς | erōtase | erōtasi | erōtasa | erōtasē | erōtaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | erōtatō3×ἐρωτᾷ | erōtate6×ἠρώτα | erōtati | erōtata6×ἠρώτησεν | erōtatē | erōtatelē |
| we 1st person plural | erōtanō3×Ἐρωτῶμεν | erōtane | erōtani | erōtana | erōtanē | erōtanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | erōtavō | erōtave | erōtavi1×ἐρωτήσετε | erōtava | erōtavē | erōtavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | erōtalō | erōtale8×ἠρώτων | erōtali | erōtala8×ἠρώτησαν | erōtalē | erōtalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 5 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | erōtameiō | erōtameia1×ἐρωτήσω | erōtameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | erōtaseiō | erōtaseia | erōtaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | erōtateiō2×ἐρωτᾷ | erōtateia1×ἐρωτήσῃ | erōtateiē |
| we 1st person plural | erōtaneiō | erōtaneia | erōtaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | erōtaveiō | erōtaveia | erōtaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | erōtaleiō | erōtaleia1×ἐρωτήσωσιν | erōtaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 2 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | erōtasōr | erōtasar1×ἐρώτησον | erōtasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | erōtatōr | erōtatar | erōtatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | erōtavōr | erōtavar1×ἐρωτήσατε | erōtavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | erōtalōr | erōtalar | erōtalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | erōtamoiō | erōtamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | erōtasoiō | erōtasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | erōtatoiō | erōtatoia |
| we 1st person plural | erōtanoiō | erōtanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | erōtavoiō | erōtavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | erōtaloiō | erōtaloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | erōtarō1×ἐρωτᾶν | erōtari | erōtara2×ἐρωτῆσαι | erōtarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | erōtarōntos3×ἐρωτῶν | erōtarintos | erōtarantos | erōtarēntos |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
erōt is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
63 occurrences, every one of them listed
erōtamō“ask”happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular9×
Luke 14:18“ask”… kai echamō anankan exercharantos horara auton; erōtamō sin, echasōr min paraitorēnton.… a field, and I need to go see it. Please excuse me.’
Luke 14:19“ask”… agorazama pente kai poreuomō dokimazara auteim; erōtamō sin, echasōr min paraitorēnton.… said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. Please excuse me.’
Luke 16:27legata de; Erōtamō sin oun, patror, hina pempaseia auton …‘Then I beg you, father,’ he said, ‘send Lazarus …
John 17:9“pray”mis peri autoiu erōtamō; ouk peri tou kosmou erōtamō alla …… their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf …
John 17:9“praying”… autoiu erōtamō; ouk peri tou kosmou erōtamō alla peri hoiu dōasē mi, hoti …… I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are …
John 17:15“ask”ouk erōtamō hina airaseia autoin ek tou kosmou …I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that …
John 17:20“ask”Ouk peri houtoiu de erōtamō monem, alla kai peri toiu pisteuarōntoiu …I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me …
Philippians 4:3nai erōtamō kai sin, gnēsior suzugor, sullabosōr autai, …Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help …
2 John 1:5“ask”kai nun erōtamō sin, kuriar, ouk hōs entolan kainan …And now I urge you, dear lady — not as a new commandment to you …
erōtasō“ask”happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular2×
Matthew 19:17tos de legata auto; Tinem min erōtasō peri teu agatheu? henos atō tos …“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus …
John 18:21“ask”tinem min erōtasō? erōtasar toin akouarēntoin tinem lalama autoi; …Why are you asking Me? Ask those who heard My message …
erōtatō“asks”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular3×
Luke 11:37“asked”En de te lalara erōtatō auton Farisaios hopōs aristateia para auto; …As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to dine with him; so He went in …
Luke 14:32“asks”… ēti autou porrō arōntou presbeian apostelarantos erōtatō teim pros eirēnan.… send a delegation while the other king is still far off, to ask for terms of peace.
John 16:5… pemparanton min kai oudenos ek vu erōtatō min; Pou hupagasō?… sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
erōtanō“ask”happening now · wepresent active indicative 1st person plural3×
1 Thessalonians 4:1Loipem oun, adelfoir, erōtanō vin kai parakalanō en kurio Iēso, …Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord …
1 Thessalonians 5:12Erōtanō de vin, adelfoir, oidarē toin kopiarōntoin …But we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who …
2 Thessalonians 2:1Erōtanō de vin, adelfoir, huper tau parousiau …… being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers,
erōtate“asked”was happening · he/she/itimperfect active indicative 3rd person singular6×
Matthew 16:13“asked”… eis teim mereim Kaisareiau tau Filippou erōtate toin mathētoin autou legarōntos; Tinon legalō …… came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of …
Mark 7:26“begged”… ate Hellēnidas, Surofoinikissas te gene; kai erōtate auton hina tem daimonem ekbalateia ek …Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
Mark 8:5kai erōtate autoin; Posoin echavō artoin? tois de …… many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied.
Luke 7:36“asked”Erōtate de tinos auton toiu Farisaioiu hina …Then one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with …
John 4:47… tan Galilaian aperchata pros auton kai erōtate hina katabainateia kai ieteia autou ton …… Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Him to come down and heal …
Acts 3:3… Iōannon mellarōntoin eiseiarō eis tem hierem erōtate eleēmosunan labara.… and John about to enter, he asked them for money.
erōtale“asked”was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural8×
Matthew 15:23… logon. kai prosercharantois tois mathētois autou erōtale auton legarōntois; Apoluasar autan, hoti krazatō …… word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she …
Mark 4:10Kai hote geneta kata monain, erōtale auton tois peri auton sun toi …… Twelve and those around Him, they asked Him about the parable.
John 4:31“urging”En te metaxu erōtale auton tois mathētois legarōntois; Rabbi, esthiasar.Meanwhile the disciples urged Him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
John 4:40… oun erchala pros auton tois Samaritois, erōtale auton menara para autoi; kai menata …… the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and …
John 9:15palin oun erōtale auton kai tois Farisaiois pōs anablepata. …So the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his …
John 12:21“asked”… to apo Bēthsaida tau Galilaiau, kai erōtale auton legarōntois; Kurior, thelanō ton Iēsun …… to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
Acts 1:6Tois men oun sunercharantois erōtale auton legarōntois; Kurior, ei en to …So when they came together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this …
Acts 16:39“asked”kai ercharantois parakalala autoin, kai exagarantois erōtale aperchara apo tau polau.They came to appease them and led them out, requesting that they leave the city.
erōtami“ask”will happen · Ifuture active indicative 1st person singular4×
Matthew 21:24apokrinirantos de tos Iēsus legata autoi; Erōtami vin kamis logon henon, hon ean …“I will also ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and …
Luke 20:3apokrinirantos de legata pros autoin; Erōtami vin kamis logon, kai legavar mi;“I will also ask you a question,” Jesus replied. “Tell …
John 14:16kamis erōtami ton patron kai alloson paraklēton dōati …And I will ask the Father, and He will give …
John 16:26… kai ouk legamō vi hoti mis erōtami ton patron peri vu;… am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.
erōtavi“ask”will happen · yefuture active indicative 2nd person plural1×
John 16:23… en ekeina ta hēmera min ouk erōtavi oudenem; amēn amēn legamō vi, an …… that day you will no longer ask Me anything. Truly, truly, I tell …
erōtata“asked”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular6×
Luke 5:3… henem teiu ploieiu, hem ate Simōnou, erōtata auton apo tau gēau epanagara oligem, …… the boat belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little …
Luke 8:37kai erōtata auton hapantem tem plēthem tau perichōrau …… of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to depart from them, because …
Luke 23:3tos de Pilatos erōtata auton legarōntos; Sis asō tos basilevos …So Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of …
John 18:19Tos oun archierevos erōtata ton Iēsun peri toiu mathētoiu autou …Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and His …
John 19:38Meta de houteim erōtata ton Pilaton Iōsēf apo Harimathaiau, arōntos …… secretly for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate to let him remove the …
Acts 23:18… fēatō; Tos desmios Paulos proskalerantos min erōtata houton ton neanion agara pros sin, …… said, “Paul the prisoner sent and asked me to bring this young man …
erōtala“asked”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural8×
Luke 4:38“asked”… Simōnou ate sunechorōntas pureto mego, kai erōtala auton peri autau.… whose mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever. So they appealed to Jesus on her behalf,
John 1:21“asked”kai erōtala auton; Tinem oun? sis Ēliaos asō? …“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said …
John 1:25kai erōtala auton kai legala auto; Tinem oun …asked him, “Why then do you baptize …
John 5:12erōtala oun auton; Tinos atō tos anthrōpos …… pick it up and walk?” they asked.
John 9:2kai erōtala auton tois mathētois autou legarōntois; Rabbi, …and His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man …
John 9:19kai erōtala autoin legarōntois; Houtos atō tos huios …and asked, “Is this your son, the one …
John 19:31… megas tas hēmeras ekeineu teu sabbateu, erōtala ton Pilaton hina kateagileia autoiu teim …… cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken …
Acts 10:48… te onome Iēsu Christou baptizira. tote erōtala auton epimenara hēmerain tinain.… name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few …
erōtateiō“asks”happening now · he/she/itpresent active subjunctive 3rd person singular2×
Luke 19:31kai ean tinos vin erōtateiō; Dia tinem luavō? houtōs legavi hoti …If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell …
John 16:30… ouk chreian echasō hina tinos sin erōtateiō; en houte pisteuanō hoti apo theou …… have no need for anyone to question You. Because of this, we believe …
erōtameia“ask”happened · Iaorist active subjunctive 1st person singular1×
Luke 22:68ean de erōtameia, ouk mē apokriniveia.And if I ask you a question, you will not …
erōtateia“pray”happened · he/she/itaorist active subjunctive 3rd person singular1×
1 John 5:16“pray”… thanaton; ouk peri ekeinau legamō hina erōtateia.… a sin that leads to death; I am not saying he should ask regarding that sin.
erōtaleia“ask”happened · theyaorist active subjunctive 3rd person plural1×
John 1:19… ek Hierosolumeiu hierevoin kai Leuitoin hina erōtaleia auton; Sis tinos asō?… Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”
erōtasar“ask”happened · youaorist active imperative 2nd person singular1×
John 18:21tinem min erōtasō? erōtasar toin akouarēntoin tinem lalama autoi; ide …Why are you asking Me? Ask those who heard My message. Surely …
erōtavar“ask”happened · yeaorist active imperative 2nd person plural1×
John 9:21… toin ofthalmoin nis ouk oidanē; auton erōtavar, hēlikian echatō, autos peri heautou lalati.… his eyes, we do not know. Ask him. He is old enough to …
erōtarō“ask”happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive1×
John 16:19“ask”gnōskata Iēsus hoti thelale auton erōtarō, kai legata autoi; Peri houteu zētavō …Aware that they wanted to question Him, Jesus said to them, “Are you asking one another …
erōtara“ask”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive2×
Luke 9:45… hina mē aisthaneleia autem, kai fobole erōtara auton peri teu rēmeu houteu.… it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.
Acts 23:20… de hoti Tois Ioudaiois suntithela teu erōtara sin hopōs aurion ton Paulon katagaseia …… answered, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul to the …
erōtarōntos“asking”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine1×
Luke 7:3“asking”… apostelata pros auton presbuteroin toiu Ioudaioiu, erōtarōntos auton hopōs ercharantos diasōzateia ton doulon …When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask Him to come and heal his servant.
erōtarōntois“questioning”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine1×
John 8:7“questioning”hōs de epimenale erōtarōntois auton, anakuptarantos legata pros autoin Tos …When they continued to question Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to …
erōtarōntoiu“asked”happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive plural masculine1×
Acts 18:20erōtarōntoiu de autoiu epi polloteron chronon menara …When they asked him to stay for a while …